Social mobile game for recommending items

ABSTRACT

Disclosed is a social dress up game that may be a fun mobile app that may be played collaboratively with friends, using the photo capability of a mobile phone or smart mobile device. One player will separately take a picture of a friend, and then invite two friends to join. Each player will dress up one part or component of the whole body of the photo-head, body or legs. In the end, the three different parts will be merged into an interesting and unique image of their friend that they can also share with the game players. Since each game player would have worked on only that player&#39;s component, the resulting merged image will be a surprise to all players.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/946,584, filed on Jul. 19, 2013, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,589,535, issuedMar. 7, 2017; the disclosure of this patent is incorporated by referenceherein.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present application relates generally to the technical field ofmobile social game apps for dressing a photo, image, avatar or the likewith various clothing for possible purchase or simply for entertainment.

BACKGROUND

Social mobile games that users may play collaboratively with friendsfrom, in one embodiment, a mobile phone or smart mobile device, arebecoming increasingly popular. Mobile games may played by a number ofplayers. Social mobile games may take advantage of products availableonline, such as clothing as well as other items. Such items may besuggested in relation to images that illustrate the function of theitems. Such games may also enable such items to be located in nearbystores or online, or may be used to organize a group gift.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Some embodiments are illustrated by way of example and not limitation inthe figures of the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a network system, according toexample embodiments;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of application servers that may form a part ofthe network system of FIG. 1, according to example embodiments;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a database, according to anexample embodiment;

FIG. 4 is an illustration of a system usable with or as part of thesystem of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a mobile device, according to anexample embodiment;

FIGS. 6 and 7 are illustrations of aspects of a mobile device on whichthe game may be played;

FIG. 8 is an illustration the posing process of a person who is thesubject of the game;

FIG. 9 is an illustration of the person in FIG. 8 in the photo to beused for the game;

FIG. 10 illustrates component parts of the photo of the subject of thegame;

FIG. 11 is an illustration of dressing up a component of the photo ofthe subject of the game;

FIG. 12 is an illustration of the photo of FIG. 8 dressed up by theplayers;

FIG. 13 is an illustration of aspects of the mobile device useable forsharing the photo on a social network;

FIG. 14 is an illustration of how a shared photo would look on the wallof the friend with whom the photo is shared on a social network;

FIGS. 15 and 18 are illustrations of aspects of the mobile device forlocating an item in inventory and its price, at a local store.

FIGS. 16 and 17 are illustrations of aspects of the mobile device forrequesting that a group gift be purchased.

FIG. 19 is a diagrammatic representation of a machine in the exampleform of a computer system within which a set of instructions for causingthe machine to perform any one or more of the methodologies discussedherein may be executed.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Disclosed is a social dress up game that may be a fun mobile app thatmay be played collaboratively with friends from, in one embodiment,using the photo capability of a mobile phone or smart mobile device. Thegame may inspire fun interactions amongst friends that may lead to localshopping or group gifting. Shopping need not be local, but could also beby using an online ecommerce system. The outfit pictures may, in someinstances be humorous outfit pictures of a person who is the subject ofthe game. In any event, the resulting outfit picture may be shared onsocial streams to raise brand awareness, in an example embodiment, of anecommerce system such as eBay®. The mobile app may encourage useanytime, anywhere, and is easy to scale to other types of products andspaces. For ease of reference herein, the name of the game may bereferred to as Stylista™, although it will be recognized that the gamemay be given any name.

The game may be played by a number of players or, perhaps, teams ofplayers. In one embodiment, up to three players or three teams may play.First, one player will separately take a picture of a friend, and theninvite two friends to join. Each player will dress up one part orcomponent of the whole body of the photo-head, body or legs. In the end,the three different parts will be merged into an interesting and uniqueimage of their friend that they can also share with the game players.Since each game player would have worked on only that player'scomponent, the resulting merged image will be a surprise to all players.The result may also be shared with other friends. In example embodimentsthe dressed up items may be located in local stores based on the currentlocations of the players or, in some instances, the current locations ofthe other friends with whom the merged image is shared. The items mayalso be located from online ecommerce sites. If desired, the players mayorganize a group gift. Or, the game may simply be used forentertainment, perhaps providing humor, thus enhancing the experience ofplaying the game, perhaps dramatically because the players never knowhow the merged image will unfold in the end. Therefore there is not onlythe aspect of stylistic dress up and brand awareness, but also theunderlying gamification that adds additional interest.

Although embodiments are discussed in terms of three players, those ofordinary skill in the art will readily recognize that fewer or moreplayers may participate depending on the intent of the game, the type ofitem being illustrated which could be, for example, other than clothing,and the illustration instead of being an image divided into three partsmay be a more complex image that would be divided into more than threeparts for playing the game.

As one example, feedback, for example, as to sentiment about the game orthe products recommended, may be given by users, who may be a buyer, asa numeric scale from 1 to 5, where 1 may be low satisfaction and 5 maybe high satisfaction. But the actual scale from 1 to 5 (for example,what level of satisfaction is a 2, what level of satisfaction is a 3,what level of satisfaction is a 4, etc.) it is left to userinterpretation.

In one example embodiment, where clothing is being suggested for aperson, a player may start the game by taking a picture of a friend andselecting a pose/silhouette that resembles the pose of the friend in thepicture. The picture is separated into multiple parts (e.g., the head,torso, and legs/feet). Friends are then invited, by way of a socialnetwork, to join the game, with each friend being assigned (orselecting) one of the multiple parts of the picture.

Each player may dress-up one part of the person shown in the picture(such as the head, torso or legs/feet). For example, one player selectssunglasses, a necklace, and a hat for the head portion; a second playerselects a jacket or shirt for the torso portion; and a third playerselects pants and shoes for the legs/feet portion. In one embodiment,each player makes his or her fashion selections independently of theother players. Alternatively, the selections could be madecollaboratively. After each player takes their turn, the three differentportions of the picture are merged into single unique picture of theirfriend. The game players can share the unique picture with other friendsthrough social networks. The display of selected fashion items in thepicture are adjusted, as needed, based on the earlier selectedpose/silhouette (e.g., a front view or a side view of a jacket isapplied to the picture based on the selected pose/silhouette).

A social mobile game app such as discussed herein may be implementedusing a network based publication system for providing items forillustration, such as clothing for the photograph of a person asdiscussed above. The publication system may also provide access tosocial networks for playing the game, as discussed below.

Additionally, the game may identify local and online listings for itemssimilar to those included in the unique picture along with item pricinginformation. The local listings are based on the application's knowledgeof the mobile device's geographic location. The multiple players (aswell as other users) may contribute to a gift purchase for some or allof the items in the unique picture.

FIG. 1 is a network diagram depicting a network system 100, according toone embodiment, having a client-server architecture configured forexchanging data over a network. For example, the network system 100 mayinclude a network-based publisher 102 where clients may communicate andexchange data within the network system 100. The data may pertain tovarious functions (e.g., online item purchases) and aspects (e.g.,managing content) associated with the network system 100 and its users.Although illustrated herein as a client-server architecture as anexample, other embodiments may include other network architectures, suchas a peer-to-peer or distributed network environment.

A data exchange platform, in an example form of a network-basedpublisher 102, may provide server-side functionality, via a network 104(e.g., the Internet, wireless network, cellular network, or a Wide AreaNetwork (WAN)) to one or more clients. The one or more clients mayinclude users that utilize the network system 100 and more specifically,the network-based publisher 102, to exchange data over the network 104.These transactions may include transmitting, receiving (communicating)and processing data to, from, and regarding content and users of thenetwork system 100. The data may include, but are not limited to,content and user data such as feedback data; user profiles; userattributes; product attributes; product and service reviews; product,service, manufacture, and vendor recommendations and identifiers; socialnetwork commentary, product and service listings associated with buyersand sellers; auction bids; and transaction data, among other things.

In various embodiments, the data exchanges within the network system 100may be dependent upon user-selected functions available through one ormore client or user interfaces (UIs). The UIs may be associated with aclient device, such as a client device 110 using a web client 106. Theweb client 106 may be in communication with the network-based publisher102 via a web server 116. The UIs may also be associated with a clientdevice 112 using a programmatic client 108, such as a clientapplication. It can be appreciated in various embodiments the clientdevices 110, 112 may be associated with a buyer, a seller, a third partyelectronic commerce platform, a payment service provider, or a shippingservice provider, each in communication with the network-based publisher102 and optionally each other. The buyers and sellers may be any one ofindividuals, merchants, or service providers, among other things. Theclient devices 110 and 112 may comprise a mobile phone, desktopcomputer, laptop, or any other communication device that a user may useto access the network-based publisher 102.

Turning specifically to the network-based publisher 102, an applicationprogram interface (API) server 114 and a web server 116 are coupled to,and provide programmatic and web interfaces respectively to, one or moreapplication servers 118. The application servers 118 host one or morepublication application(s) of publication system 120 and one or morepayment systems 122. The application server(s) 118 are, in turn, shownto be coupled to one or more database server(s) 124 that facilitateaccess to one or more database(s) 126.

In one embodiment, the web server 116 and the API server 114 communicateand receive data pertaining to products, listings, transactions, socialnetwork commentary and feedback, among other things, via various userinput tools. For example, the web server 116 may send and receive datato and from a toolbar or webpage on a browser application (e.g., webclient 106) operating on a client device (e.g., client device 110). TheAPI server 114 may send and receive data to and from an application(e.g., client application 108) running on another client device (e.g.,client device 112).

The publication system 120 publishes content on a network (e.g., theInternet). As such, the publication system 120 provides a number ofpublication and marketplace functions and services to users that accessthe network-based publisher 102. For example, the publicationapplication(s) of publication system 120 may provide a number ofservices and functions to users for listing goods and/or services forsale, facilitating transactions, and reviewing and providing feedbackabout transactions and associated users. Additionally, the publicationapplication(s) of publication system 120 may track and store data andmetadata relating to products, listings, transactions, and userinteraction with the network-based publisher 102. The publicationapplication(s) of publication system 120 may aggregate the tracked dataand metadata to perform data mining to identify trends or patterns inthe data. While the publication system 120 may be discussed in terms ofa marketplace environment, it may be noted that the publication system120 may be associated with a non-marketplace environment.

The payment system 122 provides a number of payment services andfunctions to users. The payment system 122 allows users to accumulatevalue (e.g., in a commercial currency, such as the U.S. dollar, or aproprietary currency, such as “points”) in accounts, and then later toredeem the accumulated value for products (e.g., goods or services) thatare made available via the publication system 120. The payment system122 also facilitates payments from a payment mechanism (e.g., a bankaccount, PayPal account, or credit card) for purchases of items via thenetwork-based marketplace. While the publication system 120 and thepayment system 122 are shown in FIG. 1 to both form part of thenetwork-based publisher 102, it will be appreciated that, in alternativeembodiments, the payment system 122 may form part of a payment servicethat may be separate and distinct from the network-based publisher 102.

Application Server (s)

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram showing applications of applicationserver(s) that are part of the network system 100, in an exampleembodiment. In this embodiment, the publication system 120, and thepayment system 120 may be hosted by the application server(s) 118 of thenetwork system 100. The publication system 120 and the payment system132 may be hosted on dedicated or shared server machines (not shown)that are communicatively coupled to enable communications between servermachines. The applications themselves may be communicatively coupled(e.g., via appropriate interfaces) to each other and to various datasources, so as to allow information to be passed between theapplications or so as to allow the applications to share and accesscommon data.

The publication system 120 are shown to include at least one or moreauction application(s) 212 which support auction-format listing andprice setting mechanisms (e.g., English, Dutch, Vickrey, Chinese,Double, Reverse auctions etc.). The auction application(s) 212 may alsoprovide a number of features in support of such auction-format listings,such as a reserve price feature whereby a seller may specify a reserveprice in connection with a listing and a proxy-bidding feature whereby abidder may invoke automated proxy bidding. The auction-format offer inany format may be published in any virtual or physical marketplacemedium and may be considered the point of sale for the commercetransaction between a seller and a buyer (or two users).

One or more fixed-price application(s) 214 support fixed-price listingformats (e.g., the traditional classified advertisement-type listing ora catalogue listing) and buyout-type listings. Specifically, buyout-typelistings (e.g., including the Buy-It-Now® (BIN) technology developed byeBay Inc., of San Jose, Calif.) may be offered in conjunction withauction-format listings, and allow a buyer to purchase goods orservices, which are also being offered for sale via an auction, for afixed-price that may be typically higher than the starting price of theauction.

The application(s) of the application server(s) 118 may include one ormore store application(s) 216 that allow a seller to group listingswithin a “virtual” store. The virtual store may be branded and otherwisepersonalized by and for the seller. Such a virtual store may also offerpromotions, incentives and features that are specific and personalizedto a relevant seller.

Navigation of the online marketplace may be facilitated by one or morenavigation application(s) 220. For example, a search application (as anexample of a navigation application) may enable key word searches oflistings published via the network-based publisher 102. A browseapplication may allow users to browse various category, catalogue, orinventory data structures according to which listings may be classifiedwithin the network-based publisher 102. Various other navigationapplications may be provided to supplement the search and browsingapplications.

Merchandizing application(s) 222 support various merchandising functionsthat are made available to sellers to enable sellers to increase salesvia the network-based publisher 102. The merchandizing application(s)222 also operate the various merchandising features that may be invokedby sellers, and may monitor and track the success of merchandisingstrategies employed by sellers.

Personalization application(s) 230 allow users of the network-basedpublisher 102 to personalize various aspects of their interactions withthe network-based publisher 102. For example, a user may, utilizing anappropriate personalization application 230, create a personalizedreference page at which information regarding transactions to which theuser may be (or has been) a party may be viewed. Further, thepersonalization application(s) 230 may enable a third party topersonalize products and other aspects of their interactions with thenetwork-based publisher 102 and other parties, or to provide otherinformation, such as relevant business information about themselves.

The publication system 120 may include one or more internationalizationapplication(s) 232. In one embodiment, the network-based publisher 102may support a number of marketplaces that are customized, for example,for specific geographic regions. A version of the network-basedpublisher 102 may be customized for the United Kingdom, whereas anotherversion of the network-based publisher 102 may be customized for theUnited States. Each of these versions may operate as an independentmarketplace, or may be customized (or internationalized) presentationsof a common underlying marketplace. The network-based publisher 102 mayaccordingly include a number of internationalization application(s) 232that customize information (and/or the presentation of information) bythe network-based publisher 102 according to predetermined criteria(e.g., geographic, demographic or marketplace criteria). For example,the internationalization application(s) 232 may be used to support thecustomization of information for a number of regional websites that areoperated by the network-based publisher 102 and that are accessible viarespective web servers.

Reputation application(s) 234 allow users that transact, utilizing thenetwork-based publisher 102, to establish, build and maintainreputations, which may be made available and published to potentialtrading partners. Consider that where, for example, the network-basedpublisher 102 supports person-to-person trading, users may otherwisehave no history or other reference information whereby thetrustworthiness and credibility of potential trading partners may beassessed. The reputation application(s) 234 allow a user, for examplethrough feedback provided by other transaction partners, to establish areputation within the network-based publisher 102 over time. Otherpotential trading partners may then reference such a reputation for thepurposes of assessing credibility and trustworthiness.

In order to make listings, available via the network-based publisher102, as visually informing and attractive as possible, the publicationsystem 120 may include one or more imaging application(s) 236 utilizingwhich users may upload images for inclusion within listings. An imagingapplication 236 also operates to incorporate images within viewedlistings. The imaging application(s) 236 may also support one or morepromotional features, such as image galleries that are presented topotential buyers. For example, sellers may generally pay an additionalfee to have an image included within a gallery of images for promoteditems.

The publication system 120 may include one or more offer creationapplication(s) 238. The offer creation application(s) 238 allow sellersconveniently to author products pertaining to goods or services thatthey wish to transact via the network-based publisher 102. Offermanagement application(s) 240 allow sellers to manage offers, such asgoods, services, or donation opportunities. Specifically, where aparticular seller has authored and/or published a large number ofproducts, the management of such products may present a challenge. Theoffer management application(s) 240 provide a number of features (e.g.,auto-reproduct, inventory level monitors, etc.) to assist the seller inmanaging such products. One or more post-offer management application(s)242 also assist sellers with a number of activities that typically occurpost-offer. For example, upon completion of an auction facilitated byone or more auction application(s) 212, a seller may wish to leavefeedback regarding a particular buyer. To this end, a post-offermanagement application 242 may provide an interface to one or morereputation application(s) 234, so as to allow the seller conveniently toprovide feedback regarding multiple buyers to the reputationapplication(s) 234.

The dispute resolution application(s) 246 may provide mechanisms wherebydisputes arising between transacting parties may be resolved. Forexample, the dispute resolution application(s) 246 may provide guidedprocedures whereby the parties are guided through a number of steps inan attempt to settle a dispute. In the event that the dispute cannot besettled via the guided procedures, the dispute may be escalated to amediator or arbitrator.

The fraud prevention application(s) 248 may implement various frauddetection and prevention mechanisms to reduce the occurrence of fraudwithin the network-based publisher 102. The fraud preventionapplication(s) may prevent fraud with respect to the third party and/orthe client user in relation to any part of the request, payment,information flows and/or request fulfillment. Fraud may occur withrespect to unauthorized use of financial instruments, non-delivery ofgoods, and abuse of personal information.

Authentication application(s) 250 may verify the identity of a user, andmay be used in conjunction with the fraud prevention application(s) 248.The user may be requested to submit verification of identity, anidentifier upon making the purchase request, for example. Verificationmay be made by a code entered by the user, a cookie retrieved from thedevice, a phone number/identification pair, a username/password pair,handwriting, and/or biometric methods, such as voice data, face data,iris data, finger print data, and hand data. In some embodiments, theuser may not be permitted to login without appropriate authentication.The system (e.g., the FSP) may automatically recognize the user, basedupon the particular network-based device used and a retrieved cookie,for example.

The network-based publisher 102 itself, or one or more parties thattransact via the network-based publisher 102, may operate loyaltyprograms and other types of promotions that are supported by one or moreloyalty/promotions application(s) 254. For example, a buyer/client usermay earn loyalty or promotions points for each transaction establishedand/or concluded with a particular seller/third party, and may beoffered a reward for which accumulated loyalty points can be redeemed.

The application server(s) 118 may include messaging application(s) 256.The messaging application(s) 256 are responsible for the generation anddelivery of messages to client users and third parties of thenetwork-based publisher 102. Information in these messages may bepertinent to services offered by, and activities performed via, thepayment system 120. Such messages, for example, advise client usersregarding the status of products (e.g., providing “out of stock” or“outbid” notices to client users) or payment status (e.g., providinginvoice for payment, Notification of a Payment Received, deliverystatus, invoice notices). Third parties may be notified of a productorder, payment confirmation and/or shipment information. Respectivemessaging application(s) 256 may utilize any one of a number of messagedelivery networks and platforms to deliver messages to users. Forexample, messaging application(s) 256 may deliver electronic mail(e-mail), instant message (IM), Short Message Service (SMS), text,facsimile, or voice (e.g., Voice over IP (VoIP)) messages via the wired(e.g., the Internet), Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS), or wireless(e.g., mobile, cellular, WiFi, WiMAX) networks.

The payment system 120 may include one or more payment processingapplication(s) 258. The payment processing application(s) 258 mayreceive electronic invoices from the merchants and may receive paymentsassociated with the electronic invoices. The payment system 120 may alsomake use of functions performed by some applications included in thepublication system 120.

The publication system 120 may include one or more social networkapplication(s) 260.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating social network application(s) 260of FIG. 2, according to an embodiment, at the network-based socialpublisher 102 of FIG. 1. The social network application(s) 260 is shownto include social platform user profile information 261 that stores userprofile information 262 for users of the network-based publisher 102.The user profile information 262 may include information related to theuser and specifically may include relationship information 265 and blockinformation 266. The relationship information 235 may store apredetermined relationship between the user associated with the userprofile information 262 and other users on the network-based publisher102. For example, a first user may be designated a “friend,” or“favorite friend,” etc. with a second user, the first user associatedwith the user profile information 262 and the respective designationsassociated with increasing levels of disclosure between the first userand second user. The block information 266 may store a configuredpreference of the user to block the addition of an item by other usersto a watch list associated with the user.

Turning to FIG. 4, there is seen a system that forms part of thenetwork-based publisher 102 of FIG. 1. The network-based publisher 102is shown in part in the drawing to make it clear that the system formsonly a part of the network-based publisher 102. The system includes areceiver module 71 for receiving signals from client machine 20, thesignals identifying content to be transmitted to a social network serverfor storing at a message space of a user of the social network server.As used herein, “signals” could mean analog signals or digital signalssuch as web-based messages, including packet-based messages, or even arequest message via an API call. Also included is analysis module 73.Analysis module 73 includes detector module 75 responsive to thereceiver module 71 for detecting the content, the identity of the socialnetwork, and the identity of the user of the social network. Theanalysis module 73 also includes a signal generation module 77 coupledto the detector module 75 responsive to the detection of signals suchas, for example, signals identifying the content, the identity of thesocial network, and the identity of the user of the social network, forwhom the content is intended, and other types of signals.

The signal generation module 77 can provide a rendering signal forrendering at least the content of the received signal. This renderingsignal is transmitted by transmission module 79 via network 104 to asocial network, not shown. Alternatively, instead of transmittingsignals via the network to a social network server, the transmissionmodule 79 may transmit the signals, either via the network 104 orinternally to the network-based publisher 102, to a social platformintegrated within a network-based publisher 102. Further, the signalsfrom signal generation module 77 may include signals such as signalsrequesting a user of the social network for an opinion about thecontent, or for outfit suggestions about the content, among otherthings, as more fully discussed below.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a mobile device 500, according toan example embodiment. The mobile device 500 may include a processor510. The processor 510 may be any of a variety of different types ofcommercially available processors suitable for mobile devices (forexample, an XScale architecture microprocessor, a Microprocessor withoutInterlocked Pipeline Stages (MIPS) architecture processor, or anothertype of processor). A memory 520, such as a Random Access Memory (RAM),a Flash memory, or other type of memory, is typically accessible to theprocessor. The memory 520 may be adapted to store an operating system(OS) 530, as well as application programs 540, such as a mobile locationenabled application that may provide LBSs to a user. The processor 510may be coupled, either directly or via appropriate intermediaryhardware, to a display 550 and to one or more input/output (I/O) devices560, such as a keypad, a touch panel sensor, a microphone, and the like.Similarly, in some embodiments, the processor 510 may be coupled to atransceiver 570 that interfaces with an antenna 590. The transceiver 570may be configured to both transmit and receive cellular network signals,wireless data signals, or other types of signals via the antenna 590,depending on the nature of the mobile device 500. In this manner, aconnection with a network such as network 104 of FIG. 1 may beestablished. Further, in some configurations, a GPS receiver 580 mayalso make use of the antenna 590 to receive GPS signals. Additionaldetail regarding providing and receiving location-based goods andservices using a GPS system can be found in U.S. patent application Ser.No. 13/340,626 entitled “Methods and Systems for Using a Co-LocatedGroup as an Authorization Mechanisms,” assigned to the assignee of theinstant application, which application is hereby incorporated byreference in its entirety.

Turning now to FIG. 6 there is illustrated a mobile phone 600 to whichthe game has been downloaded. In one embodiment, a shortcut 601 has beenplaced on the screen of the mobile phone in order to launch an app forplaying the game. When the app is launched a selectable start buttonsuch as at 701 of FIG. 7 may be pressed by the user to begin the game.The mobile phone camera mode should be turned on.

The user may then ask a friend to be part of the game, for example, asthe person who is to be the subject of the game. This may be seen inFIG. 8 where the subject poses for a photo as seen in the screen 810.The friend may be asked to strike various poses that may be used as thephoto for the game. Examples of the poses may be seen at 820, andcomprise photo's 821, 822 . . . 826, perhaps stored in a library,perhaps in silhouette format, and may be called using Library icon 812.The user may then select a desired pose, perhaps having it superimposedon the screen, for example pose 825, and then use that superimposedimage on the screen as at 801 to pose the subject in the selected pose.The photo is then taken and the picture, now similar to the selectedpose 825, in body shape, aspect, and angle, is seen at 901 of FIG. 9.

The Stylista app may then break up, separate, or disassemble the photoof the body of the subject, 801, into three parts such as at 1010, 1020,and 1030 seen in one embodiment in FIG. 10. This may be accomplished bywell-known means, one of which is discussed in U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 13/841,528 entitled “User Interface Overlay application” whichis assigned to the assignee of this application, and which isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

The players, or teams of players, each of which would receive a copy ofa component such as 1020, (or a part of that component (i.e., asubcomponent) for each respective team member if teams are used), maythen be invited to dress up the respective components of the photo. Inanother embodiment of team play, a member of a team may be provided thatteam's component, work on the component, and then pass on the componentto the next member of the team to work on. Or each respectivesubcomponent may be worked on individually by each respective teammember. If, on the other hand, individual players are playing, insteadof teams, each individual player may work independently on his or hercomponent. The dressing up may be done using clothing, shoes, and/oraccessories. In one embodiment, players could use clothing from acatalog such as clothing offered for sale on an ecommerce site such aseBay

The “dress up” could also include, for example, personal electronicssuch as the subject of the photo being shown listening to an iPod orspeaking on a smart phone, or operating an iPad, as only some examples.Likewise, the background of the photo, in some instances, may be used tosuggest items that the subject of the photo might find interesting orlikable. For example, if the photo were a room, certain furniture mightbe suggested. If the background were a street, a bicycle might besuggested.

Sending invitations to play the game, as above, may be accomplished oversocial sites using well known means, for example as discussed in moredetail in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/341,978 entitled “SocialShopping on a Networked Publication System” filed Dec. 31, 2011,assigned to the assignee of the present patent application, andincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

In one example embodiment, the user may dress up the face of the subjectof the photo, 1010, a second player may be asked to dress up the torsoof the person in the photo, 1020, and another player may be asked todress up the legs and feet portion of the photo, 1030. Each member ofthe game may dress up a component of the photo as discussed below, usingthe member's mobile device or, if desired, a laptop device or desktopdevice.

In FIG. 11, the user who is dressing up the head of the subject mightplace sunglasses 1101A, eye shadow, lipsticks, wig, even a mustache forhumor, and the like. As an example of suggesting products for dressingup the photo, the publication system may provide selections of productssuch as providing various types of sunglasses displayed on the device asat 1110. For example, and not shown on the drawing, the user may beprovided with a user interface in which to make a query for a particulartype of product and the publication system would then return types ofthose products at 1110. Such interfaces are well known in ecommercesystems and need not be discussed in detail here.

In this example there are three players dressing up the photo, namelythe user and two friends, each of which dresses up one component of thephoto, 1010, 1020, and 1030 of FIG. 10. Each of the two friends woulddress up their component, 1020 and 1030, respectively, of the photo muchlike the user did as discussed for component 1010 in accordance with thedescription in FIG. 11. Once all members in the game have dressed uptheir photo components, the now-dressed photo components can bereassembled or, “folded out,” as in FIG. 12. Reassembly of photocomponents, or reassembly of components of user interfaces, is wellknown and is discussed in more detail in the above referenced U.S.patent application Ser. No. 13/841,528 and elsewhere, and need not bediscussed in detail here. When reassembled, the overall dress-up of thesubject of the photo may be displayed concurrently to the three players.When the players view the completed photo, having worked only on theirindividual components, the end result is a surprise to the members.

In dressing up, for example, component 1020, here, a jacket as in FIG.12, the jacket could be made to fit better as follows. Jacket styleswould be displayed to the user much the same way in which the sunglasseswere displayed at 1101 in FIG. 11. In one embodiment, the images, whichin the case of FIG. 12 would be jackets, could be made adjustable. Forexample, when superimposed on the component, here 1020 of FIG. 10, thesize of sleeve can be made shorter by adjustment, and the placement ofthe sleeves could be adjusted inward to better match the arms akimbopose of 1020. Once adjusted, the jacket image could be made final bypressing or clicking on a selectable “Final” icon and the image isplaced on the component 1020.

In another embodiment, team members may superimpose a photo of realclothing onto the component that the member is dressing up. As oneexample, the player may have the article of clothing itself and couldplace it on a table, folded or posed in the manner that the subject ofthe photo component, here 1020, is posed. A picture could then be takenof the article of clothing as so folded, and superimposed on the imagecomponent in order to match the pose. This superposition may beaccomplished using the method and apparatus discussed in U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 13/840,777 entitled “Crowd Sourcing and MachineLearning Size Mapper,” filed Mar. 15, 2013, assigned to the assignee ofthe present patent application, and incorporated herein by reference inits entirety.

This game may be used to build brand awareness by the particular groupthat is likely to play the above game. When completed, the dressed upphoto may be shared with friends on social network sites, for example byusing select icons 1310 . . . 1360 of FIG. 13 for players or friends byposting the image on the person's wall. A view of how the image wouldlook on the person's wall is seen in FIG. 14, with notation such as at1410, 1420 indicating who shared the image and the various clothingshoes and accessories. At 1430 the name of the ecommerce site may beincluded to enhance brand awareness of the friends. Joint decisions maybe made to purchase a gift of one or more of the items with which thephoto is dressed up, for presentation to the subject of the photo, withthe price being shared by the persons presenting the gift. The gift isnot limited to the actual clothing in which the photo is dressed up. Forexample, alternate styles of the products in which the photo is dressedup may be presented by the publication system, as discussed in furtherdetail below. In an alternate embodiment, if any one of the particulargame participants would like to try on one of the dress-up items, thegeo-positioning technology of the mobile device may be used to determinethe location of a nearby store that carries the item. Locating localinventory for the item using the geo-positioning technology of a mobiledevice may be accomplished, in one embodiment, as discussed in U.S.patent application Ser. No. 13/019,910 entitled “Method and Process ofUsing Metadata Associated with a Digital Media to Search for LocalInventory,” filed Feb. 2, 2011, assigned to the assignee of this patentapplication, and included herein by reference in its entirety.

A selectable Local Stores icon may be provided as at 1560 and the brand,size, and other details of the jacket could be input (on a screen notshown in the drawing) and the name and location of the store, along withthe price could be tagged onto the item of clothing, shoes or accessoryas seen at 1510, 1520, and 1520 of FIG. 15. Further, location of localstores having the items in inventory may be shown by map as at FIG. 18as at 1820, with the items located at the particular store indicatedsuch as by icons 1810, 1820, 1830, and 1840. As mentioned above, suchlocal sourcing may be accomplished using geo-positioning as discussed inmore detail in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/019,910.

FIG. 16 illustrates an item that may be gifted to the subject of thephotograph by friends as a group gift. The item 1610 is at the priceillustrated in 1620. The group gift icon 1630 may be used to indicate tofriends on the social network that a group gift request is being made.FIG. 17 illustrates inviting friend to share the gift cost. Initiationicons 1711 . . . 1725 can be used for this request, sending theinvitation to the named players and/or friends.

Disclosed herein are network-based publisher 102 user transactions forplaying a dress up game and sharing the results on a social networkingplatform, according to some example embodiments. As network-basedmarketplace user (e.g., an eBay user), a user can share purchases withfriends so that the user may show new clothes to friends on a socialnetworking platform (e.g., Facebook.com or a platform integration withina network-based publisher). In an embodiment a network-based publishermay be referred to as an ecommerce marketplace. These clothes, and otheritems similarly shared with friends as discussed herein, may be oneexample of “commercial items.” For example, at the end of ecommercemarketplace checkout flow, the user may be provided with the ability topost her transaction involving a commercial item to a social networkwall. This wall concept is sometimes referred to herein as “storagespace,” and could include renderable or viewable storage space. The usermay tag a post with friends so that it shows up in their socialgraph(s). Tagging on social media is discussed in more detail in U.S.patent application Ser. No. 13/341,978 entitled “Social Shopping on aNetworked Publication System” filed Dec. 31, 2011 and assigned to theassignee of the present patent application, and incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

The post could include a picture and certain item information. Further,the friend could be provided with a user selectable “See similar”function to see similar pictures and item information. For example,there is a “See Similar” function on eBay's fashion page which can belocated adjacent to the item listing, or the item's photo as a link. Itcould also be added as a contextual pop-up. The shared post couldinclude selection like “commentable” or “likeable.” These cases describeinteractions that would feed into the social network, for example,Facebook. “Commentable” means that the marketplace user can share aparticular product or item with his or her social graph via the FacebookWall and include a comment along with it. “Likeable” means a Facebookuser can provide a Facebook thumbs up if he or she likes the product oritem. A social network user may also be able to provide a thumbs down ifhe or she doesn't like the product or item.

Modules, Components, and Logic

Additionally, certain embodiments described herein may be implemented aslogic or a number of modules, engines, components, or mechanisms. Amodule, engine, logic, component, or mechanism (collectively referred toas a “module”) may be a tangible unit capable of performing certainoperations and configured or arranged in a certain manner. In certainexample embodiments, one or more computer systems (e.g., a standalone,client, or server computer system) or one or more components of acomputer system (e.g., a processor or a group of processors) may beconfigured by software (e.g., an application or application portion) orfirmware (note that software and firmware can generally be usedinterchangeably herein as may be known by a skilled artisan) as a modulethat operates to perform certain operations described herein.

In various embodiments, a module may be implemented mechanically orelectronically. For example, a module may comprise dedicated circuitryor logic that may be permanently configured (e.g., within aspecial-purpose processor, application specific integrated circuit(ASIC), or array) to perform certain operations. A module may alsocomprise programmable logic or circuitry (e.g., as encompassed within ageneral-purpose processor or other programmable processor) that may betemporarily configured by software or firmware to perform certainoperations. It will be appreciated that a decision to implement a modulemechanically, in dedicated and permanently configured circuitry, or intemporarily configured circuitry (e.g., configured by software) may bedriven by, for example, cost, time, energy-usage, and package sizeconsiderations.

Accordingly, the term “module” should be understood to encompass atangible entity, be that an entity that may be physically constructed,permanently configured (e.g., hardwired), or temporarily configured(e.g., programmed) to operate in a certain manner or to perform certainoperations described herein. Considering embodiments in which modules orcomponents are temporarily configured (e.g., programmed), each of themodules or components need not be configured or instantiated at any oneinstance in time. For example, where the modules or components comprisea general-purpose processor configured using software, thegeneral-purpose processor may be configured as respective differentmodules at different times. Software may accordingly configure theprocessor to constitute a particular module at one instance of time andto constitute a different module at a different instance of time.

Modules can provide information to, and receive information from, othermodules. Accordingly, the described modules may be regarded as beingcommunicatively coupled. Where multiples of such modules existcontemporaneously, communications may be achieved through signaltransmission (e.g., over appropriate circuits and buses) that connectthe modules. In embodiments in which multiple modules are configured orinstantiated at different times, communications between such modules maybe achieved, for example, through the storage and retrieval ofinformation in memory structures to which the multiple modules haveaccess. For example, one module may perform an operation and store theoutput of that operation in a memory device to which it may becommunicatively coupled. A further module may then, at a later time,access the memory device to retrieve and process the stored output.Modules may also initiate communications with input or output devicesand can operate on a resource (e.g., a collection of information).

Example Machine Architecture and Machine Readable Storage Medium

With reference to FIG. 19 an example embodiment extends to a machine inthe example form of a computer system 1800 within which instructions forcausing the machine to perform any one or more of the methodologiesdiscussed herein may be executed. In alternative example embodiments,the machine operates as a standalone device or may be connected (e.g.,networked) to other machines. In a networked deployment, the machine mayoperate in the capacity of a server or a client machine in server-clientnetwork environment, or as a peer machine in a peer-to-peer (ordistributed) network environment. The machine may be a personal computer(PC), a tablet PC, a set-top box (STB), a Personal Digital Assistant(PDA), a cellular telephone, a web appliance, a network router, a switchor bridge, or any machine capable of executing instructions (sequentialor otherwise) that specify actions to be taken by that machine. Further,while only a single machine may be illustrated, the term “machine” shallalso be taken to include any collection of machines that individually orjointly execute a set (or multiple sets) of instructions to perform anyone or more of the methodologies discussed herein.

The example computer system 1800 may include a processor 1802 (e.g., acentral processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU) orboth), a main memory 1804 and a static memory 1806, which communicatewith each other via a bus 1807. The computer system 1800 may furtherinclude a video display unit 1810 (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD)or a cathode ray tube (CRT)). In example embodiments, the computersystem 1800 also includes one or more of an alpha-numeric input device1812 (e.g., a keyboard), a user interface (UI) navigation device orcursor control device 1814 (e.g., a mouse), a disk drive unit 1816, asignal generation device 1818 (e.g., a speaker), and a network interfacedevice 1820.

Machine Readable Medium

The disk drive unit 1816 includes a machine-readable storage medium 1822on which may be stored one or more sets of instructions 1824 and datastructures (e.g., software instructions) embodying or used by any one ormore of the methodologies or functions described herein. Theinstructions 1824 may also reside, completely or at least partially,within the main memory 1804 or within the processor 1802 duringexecution thereof by the computer system 1800, with the main memory 1804and the processor 1802 also constituting machine-readable media.

While the machine-readable storage medium 1822 may be shown in anexample embodiment to be a single medium, the term “machine-readablestorage medium” may include a single storage medium or multiple storagemedia (e.g., a centralized or distributed database, or associated cachesand servers) that store the one or more instructions. The term“machine-readable storage medium” shall also be taken to include anytangible medium that may be capable of storing, encoding, or carryinginstructions for execution by the machine and that cause the machine toperform any one or more of the methodologies of embodiments of thepresent application, or that may be capable of storing, encoding, orcarrying data structures used by or associated with such instructions.The term “machine-readable storage medium” shall accordingly be taken toinclude, but not be limited to, solid-state memories and optical andmagnetic media. Specific examples of machine-readable storage mediainclude non-volatile memory, including by way of example semiconductormemory devices (e.g., Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EPROM),Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM), and flashmemory devices); magnetic disks such as internal hard disks andremovable disks; magneto-optical disks; and CD-ROM and DVD-ROM disks.

Transmission Medium

The instructions 1824 may further be transmitted or received over acommunications network 1826 using a transmission medium via the networkinterface device 1820 and utilizing any one of a number of well-knowntransfer protocols (e.g., Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP)). Examplesof communication networks include a local area network (LAN), a widearea network (WAN), the Internet, mobile telephone networks, Plain OldTelephone Service (POTS) networks, and wireless data networks (e.g.,WiFi and WiMax networks). The term “transmission medium” shall be takento include any intangible medium that may be capable of storing,encoding, or carrying instructions for execution by the machine, andincludes digital or analog communications signals or other intangiblemedium to facilitate communication of such software.

Although an overview of the inventive subject matter has been describedwith reference to specific example embodiments, various modificationsand changes may be made to these embodiments without departing from thebroader spirit and scope of embodiments of the present application. Suchembodiments of the inventive subject matter may be referred to herein,individually or collectively, by the term “invention” merely forconvenience and without intending to voluntarily limit the scope of thisapplication to any single invention or inventive concept if more thanone is, in fact, disclosed.

The embodiments illustrated herein are described in sufficient detail toenable those skilled in the art to practice the teachings disclosed.Other embodiments may be used and derived there from, such thatstructural and logical substitutions and changes may be made withoutdeparting from the scope of this disclosure. The Detailed Description,therefore, may be not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope ofvarious embodiments may be defined only by the appended claims, alongwith the full range of equivalents to which such claims are entitled.

Moreover, plural instances may be provided for resources, operations, orstructures described herein as a single instance. Additionally,boundaries between various resources, operations, modules, engines, anddata stores are somewhat arbitrary, and particular operations areillustrated in a context of specific illustrative configurations. Otherallocations of functionality are envisioned and may fall within a scopeof various embodiments of the present application. In general,structures and functionality presented as separate resources in theexample configurations may be implemented as a combined structure orresource. Similarly, structures and functionality presented as a singleresource may be implemented as separate resources. These and othervariations, modifications, additions, and improvements fall within ascope of embodiments of the present application as represented by theappended claims. The specification and drawings are, accordingly, to beregarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense.

What is claimed is:
 1. A first device comprising: a non-transitorymemory storing instructions; and a processor configured to execute theinstructions to cause the first device to: obtain, via a camera on thefirst device, an image of a first user; select, based on a first inputreceived at the first device, a desired pose for the first user;display, on a first display of the first device, a superimposed pose ofthe first user that combines the desired pose with the image of thefirst user; electronically disassemble, the superimposed pose into oneof a plurality of images; transmit, via a wireless communicationchannel, a request to a second device to electronically superimpose animage of an item on each of the disassembled plurality of images, theplurality of images and catalog of a plurality of images of itemspresented on a second display of the second device; receive, via thewireless communication channel, the disassembled plurality of imageswith the superimposed image of the item; and reassemble the image of thefirst user with the superimposed image of the item on each of thedisassembled plurality of images.
 2. The first device of claim 1,wherein the image of the first user is obtained from a photo albumstored in the first device and is taken by the camera.
 3. The firstdevice of claim 1, wherein the selected desired pose is a current poseof the first user.
 4. The first device of claim 1, wherein thedisassembled plurality of images include a head section, a torsosection, and a leg section.
 5. The first device of claim 1, whereinexecuting the instructions further cause the first device to: transmit,via another communication channel, a request to a third device toelectrically superimpose another image of another item on thedisassembled plurality of images.
 6. The first device of claim 1,wherein executing the instructions further causes the first device to:transmit via the wireless communication channel, the reassembled imageof the first user to the second device.
 7. The first device of claim 1,where executing the instructions further causes the first device to:post, via another communication channel, the reassembled image of thefirst user on a social network site.
 8. The first device of claim 1,wherein the catalog of a plurality of images of items includes a pricingand location of local stores having physical items in inventory.
 9. Thefirst device of claim 1, wherein a request to purchase the superimposedimage of the item is transmitted to the second device.
 10. The firstdevice of claim 8, wherein the first user accumulates points to redeeman accumulated value for purchase of the physical items.
 11. A methodcomprising: obtaining, via a camera on a first device, an image of afirst user; selecting, based on a first input received at the firstdevice, a desired pose for the first user; displaying, on a firstdisplay of the first device, a superimposed pose of the first user thatcombines the desired pose with the image of the first user;electronically disassembling, the superimposed pose into one of aplurality of images; transmitting, via a wireless communication channel,a request to a second device to electronically superimpose an image ofan item on each of the disassembled plurality of images, the pluralityof images and catalog of a plurality of images of items presented on asecond display of the second device; receiving, via the wirelesscommunication channel, the disassembled plurality of images with thesuperimposed image of the item; and reassembling the image of the firstuser with the superimposed image of the item on each of the disassembledplurality of images.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein thedisassembled plurality of images include a head section, a torso sectionand a leg section.
 13. The method of claim 11, further comprising:transmitting, via the wireless communication channel, the reassembledimage of the first user to the second device.
 14. The method of claim11, further comprising: posting, via another communication channel, thereassembled image of the first user on a social network site.
 15. Themethod of claim 11, wherein the catalog of a plurality of images ofitems include a pricing and location of local stores having physicalitems in inventory.
 16. The method of claim 11, wherein a request topurchase the superimposed image of the item is transmitted to the seconddevice.
 17. The method of claim 15, wherein the first user accumulatespoints to redeem an accumulated value for purchase of the physicalitems.
 18. A non-transitory machine-readable storage medium havinginstructions stored thereon, the instructions executable to causeperformance of operations comprising: obtaining, via a camera on a firstdevice, an image of a first user; selecting, based on a first inputreceived at the first device, a desired pose for the first user;displaying, on a first display of the first device, a superimposed poseof the first user that combines the desired pose with the image of thefirst user; electronically disassembling, the superimposed pose into oneof a plurality of images; transmitting, via a wireless communicationchannel, a request to a second device to electronically superimpose animage of an item on each of the disassembled plurality of images, theplurality of images and catalog of a plurality of images of itemspresented on a second display of the second device; receiving, via thewireless communication channel, the disassembled plurality of imageswith the superimposed image of the item; and reassembling the image ofthe first user with the superimposed image of the item on each of thedisassembled plurality of images.
 19. The non-transitorymachine-readable storage medium of claim 18, wherein the operationsfurther comprise: posting, via another communication channel, thereassembled image of the first user on a social network site.
 20. Thenon-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 18, wherein thecatalog of a plurality of images of items include a pricing and locationof local stores having physical items in inventory.